The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Dick Roche, T.D., and Mr Danny McCoy, Director of Policy, IBEC, today (19th December 2006) announced details of the inaugural Recycling Consultative Forum which will take place in Dublin Castle on Thursday 11th and Friday 12th January 2007.
The Minister said the Forum will facilitate a high-level debate on the future direction of recycling in Ireland, assist in identifying any barriers to further progress in this area and advance suggestions on how these might be overcome. "There has been a radical transformation in recycling in Ireland in recent years and every sector of Irish society and the Irish economy has been involved. This Forum gives the opportunity to look to the future and to find new and better ways to improve our recycling performance. Given the partnership approach that has underpinned our progress in waste performance in recent years, I an delighted that IBEC are co-sponsoring the event with my Department."
Mr. McCoy added "the management of waste in an environmentally effective and cost efficient manner is one of the most challenging issues faced by Ireland today. IBEC have consistently viewed it as one of its key priorities and will continue to work positively and constructively with all stakeholders to deliver the integrated waste management infrastructure needed for a modern, vibrant and growing economy. It can be expected that the inaugural Recycling Consultative Forum will be a cornerstone in the development of future policy with regard to recycling in Ireland. The outcomes of the Forum's debates and discussions will certainly inform all stakeholders as to the direction of Irish waste management policy and practice."
"We have lined up an impressive team of national and international speakers to lead the debate, which will centre around the new EU Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste and the associated review of the EU Waste Framework Directive", said Minister Roche. "The list of speakers includes senior officials from the EU Commission and various national and international experts from industry", the Minister said.
Minister Roche said that Ireland's recycling rates were accelerating and we now need to focus on maintaining and building on this momentum. "I want the Forum to provide a platform for a high level debate on the various issues affecting recycling Ireland and how international expertise and best practice can help us move further up the league of EU States in terms of recycling performance. I cannot think of a better opportunity for key managers in industry and in the pubic service and for NGOs to learn more about how to identify further opportunities to up our performance. We need this type of interaction if we are going to be able to craft strategies and policies to meet the challenges going forward."
"This inaugural Recycling Consultative Forum marks a further stage in the ongoing and successful partnership between Government and industry and I want to again acknowledge the support of IBEC for the event," the Minister concluded.
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